1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a composition comprising at least one biological control agent selected from specific microorganisms and/or a mutant of these strains having all the identifying characteristics of the respective strain, and/or a metabolite produced by the respective strain that exhibits activity against insects, mites, nematodes and/or phytopathogens and at least one fungicide (I) in a synergistically effective amount. Furthermore, the present invention relates to the use of this composition as well as a method for reducing overall damage of plants and plant parts.
2. Description of Related Art
Synthetic insecticides or fungicides often are non-specific and therefore can act on organisms other than the target ones, including other naturally occurring beneficial organisms. Because of their chemical nature, they may be also toxic and non-biodegradable. Consumers worldwide are increasingly conscious of the potential environmental and health problems associated with the residuals of chemicals, particularly in food products. This has resulted in growing consumer pressure to reduce the use or at least the quantity of chemical (i. e. synthetic) pesticides. Thus, there is a need to manage food chain requirements while still allowing effective pest control.
A further problem arising with the use of synthetic insecticides or fungicides is that the repeated and exclusive application of an insecticide or fungicides often leads to selection of resistant microorganisms. Normally, such strains are also cross-resistant against other active ingredients having the same mode of action. An effective control of the pathogens with said active compounds is then not possible any longer. However, active ingredients having new mechanisms of action are difficult and expensive to develop.
The risk of resistance development in pathogen populations as well as environmental and human health concerns have fostered interest in identifying alternatives to synthetic insecticides and fungicides for managing plant diseases. The use of biological control agents (BCAs) is one alternative. However, the effectiveness of most BCAs is not at the same level as for conventional insecticides and fungicides, especially in case of severe infection pressure. Consequently, known biological control agents, their mutants and metabolites produced by them are, in particular in low application rates, not entirely satisfactory.
Thus, there is a constant need for developing new, alternative plant protection agents which in some areas at least help to fulfill the above-mentioned requirements.
Example 13 of WO 98/50422 discloses a synergistic effect of a mixture comprising Bacillus subtilis AQ713 (NRRL Accession No. B-21661) and azoxystrobin. However, due to the nature of synergism it is not possible to predict the effect of other biological control agents in combination with other fungicide based on this specific example.